… of my life

Tag Archives: people

You are the first teacher at school, who made me feel worthy of myself. I still owe a part of who I am to you. Today you might not recognize me, but I forever will.

I had just entered my 6th standard. My previous year had left deep scars emotionally. At that point in my life even I started to believe I was good-for-nothing. I expected to be nobody’s pet, and to be everybody’s punching bag.

We had a few new girls in class that year. I was particularly fond of Anu and Romaine. Anu was this smart, and well-mannered girl. And Romaine was a bit goofy and fun. I was hoping to becoming friends with them. Alas, you sorted them into the Blues.

You gave us our first test that year. It was geography. You started distributing our corrected papers, when you’d stopped dead and asked us,”Who’s Vithya?” I stood up nervously, all the while thinking, Oops, what did I do now? It’s just been a month.

“Good work. You’ve got the top score.”, you said happily. For a moment I couldn’t believe it. I was happy. I was in the stars. I do not remember most of my AISLC scores but I still remember my score on that geography test. I had gotten a 17 out of a 25. It is that much important to me, even today.

Then you made me the class pupil leader. I was surprised. It was the first and only time I was class leader. It certainly uplifted my spirit, and it was the first time I ever thought, “Hey may be I am not as bad. If Mrs.Anita, the scout guide teacher thinks I am good enough to be pupil leader, then may be I am.”

I do not know why you made me the pupil leader. I am forever grateful for that. Not for the bragging rights, but for the self-confidence, and more importantly loads of self-respect that I gained by being chosen. Thank you so much for that.

It was then I began to put more effort into studying, especially English, History and Geography, because those were your subjects.

I had a horrible hand-writing, and you tore my English Prose notes countless number of times. I remember writing our first prose lesson “The Elephant and The Hippopotamus” three times. Then in an effort to make me improve my handwriting you made me write in a four-lined notebook, for the whole term. It wasn’t until my handwriting became tolerable you let me off the hook.

At the end of the first term I got my first ‘O’ grade ever. Even the usual class toppers were surprised, with Aishu congratulating me on my first ‘O’ grade. I felt proud, because so far the only out-standing I knew was standing out of the class.

I had a few ups and downs that year. But overall it was a satisfying one because of two reasons.
Firstly, I had a wonderful handwriting by the end of the year.
Secondly, I finally started to believe in myself.

And I simply owed it all to you. Aishu did not know. I did not know. Perhaps, even you did not know.
But today, I look back at my life, and you stand as one of the people who left a significant mark in my life.
Thank you.

It has been a while since I wrote something that made sense. So, I might as well do it now.

Do you know what the most difficult thing to do is?
For most people, it is to give someone a compliment.
It hurts us so bad to say something good about a colleague, a classmate, and at times even a friend.
Now imagine what happens to the frenemies and enemies! God save them 😉

Sure, you are one of the nicest people on earth. We all like to think that, and there is nothing wrong in that.
In fact, in a way it is true. Honestly, we all strive to be the best we can.
But there is not one person on the face of Earth without a cynical side to them.
And mostly we try to contain our cynism from overriding our inherent good nature.

But…
Some cannot contain it,
Some lose it at times, (I guess I fall under this category)
Some keep always it at bay,
And some, just camouflage it very well.

So, when was the last time you gave someone a compliment?

Sure, guys do it all the time, “Hey your voice sounds so sweet. You should be on super singer”
However, we all know it is a lie that traces back to the time when Graham Bell invented the telephone.

When was the last time you gave someone a compliment, and genuinely meant it?
I guess every one of us should ask this question to ourselves.

And here’s my answer to the above question. It is going to be a long list.

Mom, you are the strongest person I know in the world. Thank you for bearing me, and bearing with me. I owe you my existence & everything else I claim to be today. If not for you, I will not be the person I am today. Love you!

Dad, you are the most honest person I know. Geez, you do not even know to lie to mom whether you had a secret snack or not. Love you!

Ganesh, you are the world’s best brother! Thank you for being there for me.

Vaenil, I love you. That is your compliment 😛

Sush, I really cannot put into words how much I admire you di. I am really surprised in a pleasant way how you’ve handled your life & all that comes along with it. You are an inspiration girl. Glad to be your bestie 🙂 Love you!

Raja & SP, Hey there clo(w)nes! You are the most responsible son & brother I have ever met. Other than that you two know everything else I feel about you, except that you are interchangeable 😛

Merlyn, you are calm & collected at all times. You have the quality to forgive your enemies & forget the past. Not many people are as blessed.

Pechi, you are honest & always put your family first. You are a selfless mother & you should be very proud of that. Let the haters, hate. They are all a bunch of sore losers. You are the best!

Lizzy’s Mum/Vaenil’s Mum, you are one of the most loving people I have met Aunty. I love you!

Ton, you’ve been a patient friend. Never judging me. Always excited for me, and you always hear me out.

Kavita & Maria, you have always been there for me. I feel grateful for having you two as my closest friendsfrom school. So pardon my nonchalance and my recent lousiness.

Lovely, you have a beautiful smile. And, I think you are one of, if not the best head girl we have had. You are strong, levelheaded & smart. Moreover, I am not saying it just because you are from my batch.

Shalini, you are beautiful, intelligent, funny, compassionate & boy, can you shake your leg. In short, I think you are the total package!

Rekha, you are the one girl at school who has never felt prejudiced towards someone. I guess you consider everyone your friend, and I am glad you do.

Sathya, you are the most charismatic girl I met at school. I adored you much like a fan. Every time you ran for Team Captain/Vice Captain I wished I could vote for you even though I wasn’t on red team.

Kimberly, you are a rock-star. Rock Star, as in I find it unbelievable at how you juggle being a mom, and then being the crazy Kim I knew from school.

Deepa & Joy, you girls are getting hotter every single day.

Sakthi Raj, you are a wonderful person. Even, I think it is odd. But, I guess I admire you asking how my parents were (once) even though you’ve never met them. I really appreciated it. So, thank you.

Rajkumar, you are the best student there was in maths. You were no department topper, but you really surprised me (& I guess the whole class) with that one answer in 2nd semester.

Hemasunitha, you are the best friend every girl should have. Lavanya is so lucky 🙂

Karthika, you are the best junior I could have asked for. I simply love you. I can’t imagine anyone else with whom I could have spent my time in the college bus chatting up, and having fun. Okay, I have not exactly given you a compliment, but you should know that I love you 🙂

Sangeetha, you are the most changed (for the better) person I know. I know how difficult it is for straight shooters. Often people mistake straight-forwardness to impertinence. I am glad you have toned it down, girl. High five!

Farz, you somehow became smokin’ hot from cute. What did you do? 😛

Ezhil, you are the best friend I possibly never had. I wish we could have been better friends.

Sethu, you are the most open-minded person I have met. I always like to have a good argument with you. I like the way you treat women as your equal. Not many of our guys do that (although they claim that). They quickly brand girls as bitches just because they have an opinion. Stay the same way, dude! 😉

Thangamani, you were the smartest guy in our batch. You seriously need to stop drinking.

Sharon, sexy mama! You have a kickass personality & attitude.

Rosh, you are the sweetest girl I know. I adore you like a little sister.

Anand, you are the most intelligent guy from our batch. As Raja once put it, “Learn from him on how to keep your mouth shut!”

Dhayani, you are the most forgiving person I have met. How do you do that?

Veera, as a friend put it, “Veera made me feel at ease” You are everybody’s friend, and you should know that.

Sudarsan, the smartest kid I know. Even my friends at college know that 🙂

So, there’s my list of possible compliments I should have given long back.

Try giving someone a compliment today.
What about that girl you feel so jealous about? Give it a try.
It might not be as hard as you think.
Infact you might feel as good as I feel now 🙂